$100K grant to restore the rapids in GR

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority has approved a $100,000 grant for a study to help restore the rapids in the Grand River.

The DDA on Wednesday heard an update on the project, which project co-founder Chris Muller said would cost about $27.5 million to remove the dams near downtown Grand Rapids.

"We used to have grand rapids," Muller said. "It takes a lot of money to restore what generations have done to destroy what our namesake is."

The money would be used for Phase II of a feasibility study exploring the Grand Rapids Whitewater plan. Muller said this part of the plan would include a higher level of engineering.

The DDA approved $25,000 for an initial study of the plan in December 2009.

The plan's proponents say it would restore the river's ecosystem, create recreational opportunities and a $5 million economic impact once implemented. Muller said he based that figure off numbers Reno, Nev. saw after it implemented a whitewater park in 2007.

The group said further studies would work with major restraints, including controlling the invasive sea lamprey, and also making sure there won't be flood issues.

One opponent of the plan, fisherman Herb Theodore, is worried the plan might remove the river's fish ladder. Plus, he doesn't believe the economic estimates will translate to West Michigan.

"There may not be as many kayakers these people think there are," Theodore said. "It's going to be a young kayaker's paddlesport area and a fishing area that we may not life with."

-- Some other discussions at Wednesday's meeting --

DDA Vice Chair Kayem Dunn presented a project update on the Grand Rapids Downtown Market, which is slated to open in July 2013 near Wealthy Street and U.S. 131. Dunn told board members the plan's funding is complicated because $12.5 million in fundraising is still continuing, and there are several grants the project is trying to secure. But Dunn does not anticipate any delay on the project.

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The Board granted a request to fund the design/engineering work necessary to begin rehabilitation of the Indiana Railroad Bridge. This pedestrian bridge, commonly known as the Blue Bridge, sits between Fulton and Pearl streets. It was originally built in 1892 and is the oldest railroad bridge crossing the Grand River, according to the DDA. The engineering cost is almost $32,000.